It's beginning to feel a lot like dive season! Now that it's June, summer diving is beginning to get into full swing, especially with a balmy water temp of upper 40s to lower 50s at depth! You don't even need the dry suit anymore, though some may disagree.

We have a busy month ahead. June 7th Mike Walsh will be presenting on marine organism camouflage and Indonesia and June 28th is our first beach meeting at White Beach, Manchester. And, hopefully plenty of diving in between!

This month I'd like to recognize Graham Smith as Diver of the Month for frequently being at the BK parking lot on Sunday mornings to go diving. And for Member of the Month, Mary Howard for always kindly reminding me that the President's message is overdue. Thanks for your patience.

Happy Diving!

Meg!

Please Welcome New Member

Seth Rakiey

From Grand Cayman,

voted in as newest member on May 24.

NOTICE

In this Issue:

Dues for 2012

President’s Message

pg. 1

are now

Meeting Summaries

pg. 2-3

overDUE.

Coming Events & Calendar

pg. 4-5

Undersea Divers Boat Dives

pg. 4

Coming Club Events

May 31: Barbara Warren of Salem Sound CoastWatch – will give a presentation on local marine invasive species.

June 7: Mike Walsh will give a presentation on Marine Organism Camouflage and Indonesia

June 28: Beach Meeting at White Beach in Manchester by the Sea

Diver of the Month

for June 2012

Graham Smith

for frequently being at the BK parking lot on Sunday mornings to go diving

Member of the Month

for June 2012

Mary Howard

for always kindly reminding me that the President's message is overdue.

There was an excellent presentation on helmet diving by Jack & Paul Harling which included videos and a display of various “hats”, one of which resulted in a popular photo op. No one was recruited into the business, however 

Treasurer: A life member paid dues - thank you!

Committees:

-Program – see website for details

-Air Bubbles: Will be published soon

Dive Talk:

-Vinny & Gary at Pebble Beach. 46F, great vis, good dive.

-Jack at Back beach – good vis

-Last week Jack went diving in Florida, including Disney

-Jim D went in Salem channel. Used fisheye camera very successfully to find scallop bed

-Jeff & Graham went to Pebble. Nice, but big rollers getting out at high tide. 47F, 10-15’ viz.

General Discussion:

-There was a calico lobster found in for sale; it was caught in Maine. Being held at NEAq in RI. Very rare - 1 in 30 million!

-Mike’s Moments:

-There’s concern about reports of huge increase in the numbers of Asian Tiger shrimp found in the Gulf. They have the potential to be invasive and devastating to the natural population as they are large and have very high growth rates. They are believed to have come from a release from a research lab in South Carolina 20 years ago.

-German submarine U513 found off the coast of Brazil in 245’ sw. Diver was using an underwater sonar system. Coincidentally - last year Meg dove a ship in Nova Scotia that was sunk by U513!

-Finatics are hosting Reef Fishinar tomorrow; contact Mary if you’d like more info.

-David Cunningham will be diving on the Chester Poling tomorrow AM to leave a plaque honoring Paul Blanchette along with 2 others who

Air Bubbles – May 2012

died diving there.

-Mike’s Moments:

-12 yr old on beach in Alaska found a piece of orange plastic released by NOAA in the 70s to study ocean currents.

Raffles:

Dollars Box: Ellen Garvey

Bug Bag: Geoff Loynd

Mystery Prize: Marianne

Cunningham

24-May-2012

Meeting called to order: 8:07 PM

Attendance: 4 Officers, 15 Members, 3 guests

Secretary: Minutes read and accepted Treasurer: We have money.

Committees:

-Program: – see website for details

-5/31-Barbara Warren next week to discuss invasive species in Salem Sound.

-6/7-Mike Walsh will be here

-Pat & Annette’s week in Vermont has been rescheduled to Aug 5-12. Send attendance info to Vinny; when you plan to be there.

-We’re looking for more speakers for the rest of the year

-Please respond to Bill Werner whether or not you’re interested in the programs he’s proposed

-6/28 will be a beach meeting at White Beach. Lauren will get the permit

-Membership:

-We have 51 paid members, 44 non- paying member

-We accepted Seth Rakiey’s application for membership.

-Air Bubbles: Deadline is today

Dive Talk:

-Graham, Meg, Claus went to Folly. 47F at 40’.

-Seth went to Folly to do a certification. It’s colder here than in Grand Cayman, but he’s been diving 6 times in the last 7 days.

-Kris went several times.

-Jeff and John M used the dives they’d won on “Easy Diver”. Had a great time.

-Adam went to Indonesia – spent 4

nights/11 dives on Bunaken, wall diving. Then to Lembeh for 9 days/23 long dives – lots of critters - mimic octopus, lots of nudis. Great vis both places, even though Lembeh is “muck” diving. Usually start the dives at 70’ then work your way up.

-Diving this weekend? Contact John

Sears if you’d like to go Sunday or

Monday.

General Discussion:

-Amy Maurer is ordering NEW REEF laminated fish ID cards; if we get enough people the price is $5 instead of $8. Let Mary or Amy know by next week if you’re interested.

-Kiss 108 advertised for Undersea Divers today.

-Markus is coordinating a re-creation of the Time-Life picture! There was a lot of enthusiasm for this.

-Mary has a friend with a 2001 Formula boat for sale; let her know if you’d like info.

May 31: Barbara Warren of Salem Sound Coastwatch will come and speak to us about marine invasive species in our area. These are animals and plants we can expect to see diving here in New England.

June 7: Mike Walsh will give a presentation on Marine Organism Camouflage, and Indonesia. He gave this presentation at Sea Rovers last year, and it was fascinating.

Beach meetings on June 28 and July 26 at White Beach in Manchester-by-the-Sea,

MA. This is a picnic/cookout social event. If you want to do a dive before or after, that’s definitely an option. The tide will be high about 7PM on 6/28 and about 5:30 on 7/26.

Other Upcoming Events

July 28: 11th Great Annual Fish Count

Coming back for the 11th year in a row, you can help count fish and win prizes! Each year divers help researchers by surveying fish populations. This is done by identifying what fish you see on a dive. After the dive, we gather at Stage Fort Park in Gloucester, for raffle prizes and a BBQ!

As of 4/12/12, our raffle is now valued over $4000, with more to come shortly.

There will be a picnic, raffles, and a touch tank. Every diver who submits a survey form will get an entry into the raffles. We are expecting more than 100 divers to participate in the day’s celebration.

WHAT IS REEF? REEF provides the SCUBA diving community a way to contribute to the understanding and protection of marine populations. REEF achieves this goal primarily through its volunteer fish monitoring program, the REEF Fish Survey Project.

Supporting and promoting the recreational diving community in Massachusetts.

The Bay State Council of Divers (BSC) is a diver’s advocacy group. The BSC monitors local, state and federal regulations that may affect the recreational diving community in Massachusetts. When required, the BSC represents the interests of the diving community in these matters.

The BSC serves as a liaison between dive clubs and dive stores to promote recreational diving activity in Massachusetts. All divers are encouraged to support the BSC with an annual contribution of $5. Your contribution will allow the BSC to continue to be a strong advocate for the recreational diving community in Massachusetts.